Addressing Security Cooperation in the 21st Century Whisnant will be commanding a Special Purpose Marine AirGround Task Force (SPMAGTF): SPMAGTF Africa 13.2. His Marine entity is made up of 150 Reserve Marines and sailors. Their efforts will support U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and Marine Forces Africa by conducting U.S. Department of State sponsored security cooperation missions in Burundi, Senegal and Uganda. (NOTE: the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) is an entity used by the United States Marine Corps for theater security cooperation. It is primarily focused on building partner capacities.) LtCol Whisnant personally believes that human capacity is a critical component for the 21st century fight, not the number of tanks or guns. Human skills have historically been necessary for the military to navigate within the human terrain—albeit awkwardly at times—and work more closely with civilian partners; a critical skill that will be even more important in the future. Whisnant managed to leverage specialized training for his team that hones those skills specific to the “human element.” One module he brought to the team, called “Rapid Rapport Training”—a term fondly coined by one of the facilitators, brings together the art and the science of neuro-linguistic training. This training breaks down the science of how we are wired behaviorally, and couples it with the art of building rapport, teaching students how to read others non-verbal cues and then translate that into how to build rapport more successfully—a cross cultural communications strategy with tangible results. “We can select and train the right people,” Whisnant says. “Mapping out the humans you will work with and their skill sets is important. Gathering intelligence and fostering those relationships is key.” MAGTF 13.2 is a team of Reserve Marines. “They bring real-life experiences gleaned from their day-to-day civilian worlds with them. This includes a more in-depth understanding of civilian culture, lexicon and problem solving skills.” Whisnant sees a lot of talent in junior Marines as well—an important aspect of the future leadership of the Marines. “TBS4 graduates are exceedingly talented with advanced degrees. They have an amazing depth and emotional intelligence. Even many of my NCOs have advanced degrees. Unfortunately, investing in human capital is often difficult to justify as it is not tangible or measureable.” A return to the unadulterated kinetic fight—the sexy operations Hollywood glorifies on the big screen, military recruiters happily exploit and many current top brass still strongly believe is their raison d’être—will be an egregious step backwards in time.
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It will be a fight to not return to the fight. This will be an unequivocal challenge for forward-thinking leaders. This, coupled with the increasing possibility that policy makers, weary of long and costly wars and faced with budgetary constraints may be tempted to cut “soft” programs and training aimed at sustaining the human capacity, will make the forge ahead not meant for the leader lacking in tenacity. This set of skills will be required to keep the U.S. military abreast of skills and cross cultural savvy required to address 21st century conflict. Beyond this, additional skills will be necessary to augment aptitudes to work in areas such as law enforcement, with an increased understanding of the complexities of the rule of law and inter-organizational coordination. Ceasing to train, develop and invest in those human resources to better prepare the forces for those land and littoral operations will cripple the 21st century fight. Ms. Melissa Ward has a 20-year background in humanitarian relief and Civil-Military operations and has worked for DoS, USAID and the UN. She has managed refugee camps, run field offices and overseen emergency food aid portfolios. Ms. Ward has worked in many countries including Cambodia, Sudan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Angola and served 16 months on a PRT in Kirkuk, Iraq. She now lives in Washington, DC and serves as the Interagency SME at the Marine Corps Civil Military Operations School in Quantico, VA
Notes World Development Report 2011, World Bank pg 30 Going Farther by Going Together: Building Partner Capacity in Africa, Maj Gen Charles Hooper Nov 12, 2012 3 Office of Security Cooperation 2012 4 The Basics School – where Marine officer recruits at the lieutenant rank first start their education 1 2